SELECTING FILING EQUIPMENT
Fig. 28. Showing Manner of Joining
Upright Sections.
Browne-Morse Co.
The selection of filing equipment has been greatly simplified by the manufacturers, who have studied the filing problem with the view to supplying the demand for equipment to accommodate every business paper. As new problems have presented themselves, new equipment has been designed. The needs of the smallest office, as well as those of the largest corporation, have been studied and met. Heavy cabinets of solid construction have given way to cabinets built in sections, any one of which can be carried by the office boy. The man who has but a half-dozen letters a day to file finds a section exactly suited to his requirements; as his business grows, he adds other sections; the cabinet grows with the business, making one complete system, no matter how small or how large.
The most universally used of all filing devices is the vertical file. As has been explained in the preceding pages, it adapts itself to almost all of the papers found in a business office. Vertical files are made with drawers in three standard sizes: letter size, for ordinary correspondence, or papers up to 9½"×11" in size; legal or cap size, for legal blanks, reports, and other large papers up to 10"×15" in size; invoice size, for invoices, orders, credit reports, and all papers not larger than 5¼"×8". Papers 8"×10" can be filed in the invoice size by folding once.
Styles of Construction. Two standard styles of construction are used for vertical files, horizontal sections and upright sections or units. The horizontal section is made one vertical file drawer high and either two or three drawers wide. Upright units are one drawer wide, four drawers high for letter and cap sizes, and five drawers high for the invoice size.
The upright unit is the newer and preferred style of construction; it is more substantial, and for either large or small filing systems occupies less floor space. Upright units are put together as shown in Fig. 28. Each section is built with skeleton ends, and at each end of the cabinet—whether one or a dozen sections—end panels are used, making one complete cabinet. The sections are locked together, and can be separated at will. Fig. 29 shows three upright sections, in the three standard sizes, joined together to make a complete cabinet. This gives some indication of the possibilities offered by this style of construction in building a cabinet to meet every requirement.
Fig. 29. Three Upright Sections
in Standard Sizes
Browne-Morse Co.
Upright units are also made with combinations of drawers for different purposes. For a small business, an assortment of files for different purposes is frequently desirable. An entire section filled with files of one kind may not be needed, but a combination section offers a solution. The combination illustrated in Fig. 30 contains one cupboard, six shallow storage blanks, two double card-index drawers, and three document files. A vertical file drawer can be substituted for the cupboard unit.
If vouchers, or other folded documents are to be filed, the document drawers shown in the combination unit can be used, or provision can be made for filing these papers in the vertical file. The vertical file drawer is divided lengthwise by partitions into compartments of the same width as the document file. Each compartment is equipped with a follower block and countersunk rod for holding guides.
Fig. 30. Combination Cabinet
Browne-Morse Co.
Where a large number of folded documents are to be filed, as in the office of a corporation using a voucher system, this file is much more convenient than the old style. An old-style document file has a limited filing capacity, and must be taken from the cabinet for consultation. A vertical file drawer, legal size, provides three compartments, each 24" in length. This gives an actual filing capacity of six feet in a single drawer. An upright section, equipped for document filing, is shown in Fig. 31. If an entire section is not needed for this purpose, one drawer can be equipped for document filing, and the others used for correspondence.
Fig. 31. Upright Cabinet
for Documents
Library Bureau
A style of construction designed to combine the expansion idea with variety is known as the inter-inter cabinet. This cabinet consists primarily of an outer cabinet or shell of standard height, depth, and width. This shell is divided into compartments of standard height into which the filing devices are fitted. The various filing devices are arranged in skeleton units of standard dimensions, made interchangeable so that any desired combination can be produced. Fig. 32 shows an outside cabinet, card index, and vertical file units, which fit the openings in the cabinet.
OUTSIDE CABINET
Fig. 32. Inter-Inter Construction
Macey Co.
This construction enables the user to make a combination of small units of various kinds to suit present requirements, all housed in a single case in a compact form. Provision for future expansion is unnecessary, since an additional outside cabinet can be added at any time, and the units rearranged at will to conform with changes in the system.
An inter-inter cabinet shown in Fig. 33 suggests the variety of devices that can be accommodated in a single shell. This cabinet contains vertical file, card index, legal blank drawers, and document files.
The need has been felt for a small filing cabinet, or stack of sections, that would be complete and give the proper variety. The professional man, the department manager, and the executive have need for a small cabinet for personal correspondence, reports, statistics, records of matters requiring personal attention, blanks and forms, private papers, and all matters of a confidential nature. This need seems to have been met satisfactorily by the small sections known to the trade as sectionets.
Fig. 33. Inter-Inter Cabinet
The Macey Co.
These are complete sections, the largest size being that of the vertical file drawer, which can be stacked one on top of the other or side by side. Any of the standard filing devices can be made up into these sections. A small section for 4"×6" cards is shown in Fig. 34. A single section, with top and base, makes a complete cabinet, which can be added to as needed. Fig. 35 shows a small stack of sections consisting of vertical file, 5"×8" card index, and 3"×5" card-index drawers, and one document file, on a leg base.
Transfer Files. Files for the storage of transferred correspondence can be of cheaper construction than the regular filing cabinets, as they are less frequently referred to and not subject to the same hard usage. They should, however, be of reasonably substantial construction; it is usual to keep business correspondence at least two years, and it may be necessary to refer to it many times after it is transferred. Then, too, if substantial transfer files are provided, they can be used again and again; sufficient transfer files to hold two years' correspondence will last indefinitely.
Fig. 34. Card Sectionet
Shaw-Walker Co.]
At first, manufacturers of vertical filing equipment supplied nothing more substantial than boxes made of binder's board. Boxes the size of a vertical file drawer were used. These were usually stored on shelves, and to refer to the contents it was necessary to take down the box and remove the cover. To keep pace with improvements in filing cabinets, new styles of transfer files have been perfected. One of the most satisfactory of the more modern styles is the drawer transfer file, which is practically a single drawer section. It is made of light wood with a drawer as shown in Fig. 36. These files can be stacked, one on top of another, and locked together, making a solid filing cabinet. The drawers hold the contents of a vertical file drawer, but are not equipped with follower blocks, and are not recommended for current filing. These transfer files cost more than the old style, but when durability and accessibility are considered, they probably are more economical in the long run.
DICTATING TO THE BUSINESS PHONOGRAPH, MANUFACTURED BY THE NATIONAL PHONOGRAPH COMPANY, ORANGE, N.J.
Fig. 35. A Stack of Sectionets
Shaw-Walker Co.
Metal Files. Metal furniture is rapidly gaining in popularity for office use. All sorts of office furniture is now made of sheet steel—desks, tables, chairs, counters, and filing devices for all purposes. Metal cabinets are made in upright sections and equipped with the same filing devices found in wooden cabinets. Fig. 37 shows a row of metal sections, combining a variety of filing devices. At either end are roller book shelves and a cupboard, while in the center are six styles of files.
Fig. 36. Transfer Drawer.
Browne-Morse Co.
Fig. 37. A Row of Metal Files. The Berger Co.
The most apparent advantage of metal files is the safety afforded, as it has been amply demonstrated that they will go through a very severe fire without damage to contents. Few offices have sufficient vault space for the papers that must be kept. Metal files not only take care of the valuable papers, but by keeping all papers away from combustible material, act as a fire preventive.
Another reason for the increasing popularity of metal files is the scarcity of suitable timber and its advancing cost. The supply of oak and mahogany is decreasing so rapidly that the necessity for a substitute seems inevitable in the near future. For office furniture steel seems to offer the most practical substitute.
BURROUGHS ADDING MACHINES IN THE OFFICE OF THE FAIR, DEPARTMENT STORE, CHICAGO, ILL.